Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) are an ancient scourge that have made a dramatic comeback in recent years across the globe, infesting structures such as homes, hotels, schools, movie theaters, and hospitals. (See, e.g., Saenz V L, et al., J. Med. Entomol. 49, 865-875; Harlan J H., Outl. Pest Manag. 18, 57-61 (2007); and Potter M F, et al., Pest World September/October, 8-20 (2010), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) There was a decline of bed bug infestations in the 1940's and 1950's following the application of DDT and other potent pesticides legal at the time. The recent resurgence of bed bug infestations occurring both domestically and internationally has led to a renewed interest in the development of new, more environmentally friendly and sustainable methods to capture, control, and prevent bed bugs.
To date, the primary strategy for bed bug abatement has been to develop and apply chemical pesticides. However, bed bugs have grown resistant to many of the commonly used pesticides making this approach increasingly ineffective. In addition, reliance upon pesticides is increasingly perceived as imprudent because of the large amount of potentially harmful chemicals that must be applied indoors in bedrooms and other sensitive locations. Non-chemical abatement methods such as heat, cold, vacuuming, and bed encasement, are being utilized as well but tend to be laborious, costly, and frequently ineffective. Such methods also tend to be curative rather than preventative in nature.
For many years, bean leaves have been known to capture bed bugs. Historical reports describe the capture of bed bugs in Balkan countries by leaves from bean plants strewn on the floor next to beds. (See, e.g., Potter M F, Amer. Entomol. 57, 14-25 (2011), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) During the night, bed bugs walking on the floor would accumulate on these bean leaves, which were collected and burned the following morning to exterminate the bed bugs. The capture of bed bugs by the bean leaves was attributed to the action of microscopic plant hairs (trichomes) on the leaf surfaces that would entangle the legs of the bed bugs. (See, for example, Richardson, H. H., J. Econ. Entomol. 36, 543 (1943), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) The disadvantages of this approach include: the supply of a sufficient number of fresh bean leaves, the inconvenience of having leaves spread on the floor, the inconsistencies inherent in such naturally occurring materials, and the rapid wilting/desiccation of the leaves that stop them from functioning in bed bug capture for longer than overnight. In addition, because the bean leaves are limited as to how and where they may be applied, bed bugs are able to avoid capture by crawling along surfaces that cannot easily be covered by the leaves.
Despite its limitations, this physical capture mechanism is a source of inspiration in the development of new and sustainable non-chemical methods to control the burgeoning numbers of bed bugs. A purely physical management method has the additional advantage that it would avoid the problem of pesticide resistance that has been documented extensively for this insect. (Romero A, et al., J. Med. Entomol. 44, 175-178 (2007); Yoon K S, et al., J. Med. Entomol. 45, 1092-1101 (2008); Zhu F, et al., Arch. Insect Biochem. 73, 245-257 (2010); and Mamidala P, et al., BMC Genomics 13 (2012), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.) Accordingly, a need exists to create improved techniques and devices to capture, control and prevent infestation by bed bugs and other insects.